Saints boss Dowson looking forward to 'full-bodied encounter' at Bath

Dowson takes his champions to face the team they edged out in last season's Gallagher Premiership showpiece in June.

And with Bath fancied by many to go one step further this season, the size of the task is clear.

However, Dowson is relishing the opening fixture of the new league campaign.

And he said: "I'm very excited.

"You get through a tonne of work in pre-season, you're excited about new players and a new opportunity.

"Now we're ready to get stuck into it.

"We've had enough of beating each other up and now it's time to get into the games and find out where we're at."

On Bath, Dowson said: "They've clearly got a very good squad.

"We know what happened at the end of last season so they will be desperate to go one better and kick their campaign off properly.

"We're looking forward to what is a big challenge."

Bath finished second last season and have managed to keep the majority of their squad together.

So does Dowson expect more of the same from this week's opponents?

"I think so," he said.

"They weren't a million miles away so they don't need to change too much, particularly with the quality of the group they have.

"I've watched some of their pre-season games and there's a couple of nuances that are different that we're looking at, but we'll see a full-bodied encounter, it will be hugely physical and it should be a good atmosphere."

Saints claimed some impressive wins on the road last season, notably at the likes of Saracens and Exeter Chiefs.

"It's my stock answer now but it's basically along the lines of the success last year was brilliant and was reward for the effort the boys put in, but what we need to take from last season is not necessarily those memories but the aspects of our game that gave us the opportunity," Dowson said.

"Lee Radford coming in on the defensive side of the ball, our work rate, how tight we were as a group, how committed we were to our game plan, how tough we had to be at times away from home, all those technical, tactical and emotional elements.

"It's about what gave us the opportunity to do what we did and whether we can repeat them, make them better, get the whole group doing it and really push on with those elements as opposed to worrying too much about trophies and games and opposition."

Dowson has been part of the only other Saints squad to have defended a Premiership title.

He was a key member of the team that claimed the crown in 2014, going on to finish top of the table in the following campaign before falling at the play-off semi-final stage.

So has he used his experience as a player to influence his coaching going into the new season?

"Not really because it was so long ago, a different group of players, a different environment, a different league, a different game in many ways from a rules point of view," he said. "It seems to be a long time ago now.

"What we need to understand is that our game doesn't need to change drastically but it does need to change and we're trying to work out what elements of our game need to be adapted and what elements of our game need to be set in stone.

"We've got a good understanding of our game and we've got to make sure we apply those principles under huge pressure."

Saints played two pre-season matches, both at home, as they lost to Leinster before beating Bedford Blues last Friday night.

And Dowson said: "It was very, very different to the last pre-season, which was a long one.

"We had lots of time we could spend on different elements of our game, we could spend time socialising, whereas this feels like it's been particularly short.

"It's been very business-like, we've got stuck into it and the new players have been excellent.

"There hasn't been as much time so we're trying to make the most of every minute we have on the training pitch to make sure we're ready to go."